Vehicle running-gear.



No. 670,724. Parental: Mar. 26, wol. M. PAYNE.

VEHICLE RUNNING GEAR.

(Application led Dec. 7, 1900.?

(No Modal.)

UNtTED STATES PATENT GFFICE-. i-

MARTIN PAYNE, OF TROY, NEI/V YORK.

VEHICLE RUNNING-GEAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 670,724, dated Malh 26, 1901' Application tiled December 27, 190i?. .Serial No. 41,245. (No model.)

To @ZZ wil/0717, t muy concern,.-

Be it known that I, MARTIN PAYNE, a citt Zen of the United States, residing at Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle Runni1ig-Gea1'; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it. appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. t Y

My invention relates to vehicle runninggear, more particularly to running-gear employed for light road or business wagons, or those intended to be drawn at high speed, the constructor of which must necessarily eliminate all possible weight consistentJ with leaving .sufficient strength in the parts to withstand the usage ordinarily given them.

The object of my invention is Yto produce a special form of running-gear of the character stated that will cause the load to be supported in rear of each axle or of an imaginary line joining the axes of the pairs of wheels. attain this object, I provide each pair of wheels with two arched axles, one extending upwardly in a direct vertical plane from the hubs of each pair of front and back wheels and the second axle in each instance extending in a plane inclined toward the rear. Upon the rearwardly-inclined axles the entire load is mainly upheld.

Each constituent element of my invention is described in detail and its individual office, together with the mode of operation of the whole, fully explained hereinbelow.

Of the accompanying drawings, throughout which like numerals refer to like parts, Figure 1 represents the front wheels and axles; Fig. 2, the rear wheels and axles; Fig. 3, a rear View of the hind wheels and body portion, exhibiting the separable. clamping devices by which the body and Wheels are held together; and Fig. e is a preferred form of body or seat support for use with the gear as a' speedwagon.

Considering the drawings, numeral l marks the thills, coupled in any chosen manner to the vertical axle 2 of the front wheels 3 and 4.

ToV

Voutside 'of the wheels.

This forward axle is normally in a vertical plane, and it will beV noted that its extremities reach downwardly tothe hubs upon the The rearwardly-inclined axle of the front wheels is designated `by numeral 5, and thel extremities of this Qaxlereach down between the wheels.

The

wheels turnupon the spindles 6 and 7, and

'means of the nuts 8 and 9.

to these spindles the axles are secured by It will be understood that there are two nuts 8 for the front `axle and two nuts 9 for the rearwardly-,iuclined axler, although but one nut each is shown. Otherwise than by means of the spindles axles 2 and 5 are not connected with each other in any manner save at the top, lwhere arms 10 l0 of a fifth-wheel device 11 are connected with the axles. The upper p member of the fifth-wheel supports the crossthe ru nning-gear.

There are four of these, and each is precisely l like the other. They are straight pieces of wrought iron or steel, eachhaving a groove, such as groove 18, extending longitudinally and provided with bolt-holes 19 19, bored at intervals through the body of the piece at the bottom of the groove. The grooves are slightly expanded toward the bottom, and the tongues upon the male members of the clamping devices are of corresponding form.V There are two male clamping members for the front pair of wheels. One of these is shown in Fig. 4 and designated by number 20; The construction of the male members, of which there are four, is precisely the same foreach. Member 20 has a tongue 21 extending lengthwise, and about the middle point of the tongue a bolt-hole 22 is bored. Itis believed to be clear that if tongue 21 is slipped into groove 18 of the complementary member the two may be bolted together in as many different positions as there are bolt-holes 19 19 in the female In this manner the load can be member.

IOO

shifted toward the rear or toward the front, asmore fully explained hereinafter.

As a substitute for the usual springs inV connection with the running-gear I provide the wheels with rubber tires, either inated or solid. y

Considering Fig. 2, numeral v23 marks the front axle; numeral 24, the^rearwardlyin clined axle;l numerals 25 and26, the spindles upon which Athe wheels turn, and numerals 27 27 and 28 28- the axle-nuts. As already stated with reference to the front axles, these rear axles are not joined together between the spindles and the top, where they are connected by rods 29 and 30, parallel with each. other and similar in position and office to the brods 14 and l5. (See Fig. l.) Bolted to the side rods are the two female members 3l and 32 of therear-wheels clamping device. The male members are shown in Fig. 3, (designated byv i numerals 33 and 34.) The elements just described duplicate exactly those relating to the front wheels. f

I reserve the right to use any sort of wagonbody with the running-gear herein described.

The spring supported seat illustrated merely shows the form preferred for speedwagons, and it may be easily and 'quickly removed and replaced by a box-body useful for business purposes.

If the body 35 be placed upon the wheels, the tongues and grooves of the clamping members being in engagement, as indicated and described,aud those members bolt-ed together, the Weight of the rider will fall almost wholly upon the rearwardly-inclined axles of each pair of front and hind wheels. The advantage of this construction and arrangement has been determined by experiment. I have found by actual trial that a person seated in a Vehicle embodying my invention when the vehicle is at rest upon a perfectly-level -floor can start and propel it forward by simply maintaining an up-and-down bouncing movement comparable to that produced by the actual behavior of the wagon when drawn along the ordinary roadway. When the wagon is employed for business purposes with a boxbody carrying usually a relatively heavyr load, it is advantageous that the weight be borne farther forward thanwhen the speed wagonbody is in use'and the load only that of the y driver. As far as I am able to ascertain, the

'propelling action just described is due to placing the Weight well to the rear of a direct line joining the hubs of the pairs of wheels, and this action is a distinct aid to the horse and enables greater speed to be attained than with the ordinary running-gear.

l am aware that arched'axles have been employed, one being vertical and another, re lating to the same pair of wheels, being inclined; but I am not aware of any vehicle being constructed wherein the inclined axles always extend t0 the rear and in which the load may be rearwardly located, as set out f herein.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. In vehicle running-gear, the combination of suitable axles, a body or seat support, and'clarnping devices adaptedto hold the said -body and axles together and whereby the weight of the'load may be supported in rear of the ends of said axles, substantially as described.

2. In vehicle running-gear, the combination of suitable axles, a body or seat support, and adjustable clamping devices adapted to hold the said body and axles together and whereby the weight of the load may be su pported at different distances in rear of the ends of said axles, substantially as described.

MARTIN PAYNE.

Witnesses:

WALTER F. MEAD, WM. D. OCONNELL. 

